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Of Mice and Women: Light as a Circadian Stimulus in Breast Cancer Research

Cancer Causes & Control volume 17, pages 375–383 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective

Nocturnal rodents are frequently used as models in human breast cancer research, but these species have very different visual and circadian systems and, therefore, very different responses to optical radiation or, informally, light. Because of the impact of light on the circadian system and because recent evidence suggests that cancer risk might be related to circadian disruption, it is becoming increasingly clear that optical radiation must be properly characterized for both nocturnal rodents and diurnal humans to make significant progress in unraveling links between circadian disruption and breast cancer. In this paper, we propose a quantitative framework for comparing radiometric and photometric quantities in human and rodent studies.

Methods

We reviewed published research on light as a circadian stimulus for humans and rodents. Both suppression of nocturnal melatonin and phase shifting were examined as outcome measures for the circadian system.

Results

The data were used to develop quantitative comparisons regarding the absolute and spectral sensitivity for the circadian systems of humans and nocturnal rodents.

Conclusions

Two models of circadian phototransduction, for mouse and humans, have been published providing spectral sensitivities for these two species. Despite some methodological variations among the studies reviewed, the circadian systems of nocturnal rodents are approximately 10,000 times more sensitive to optical radiation than that of humans. Circadian effectiveness of different sources for both humans and nocturnal rodents are offered together with a scale relating their absolute sensitivities. Instruments calibrated in terms of conventional photometric units (e.g., lux) will not accurately characterize the circadian stimulus for either humans or rodents.

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Notes

  1. Light, like time and mass, is a fundamental quantity, but unlike all other fundamental quantities, is defined in terms of a specific visual response in humans [11]. As such it is technically incorrect to refer to light when referring to other organisms, or in relation to nonvisual (e.g., circadian) responses in humans. The term optical radiation is preferred to describe the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum spanning ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation. However, given the wide use of the term light to describe optical radiation in the biological and medical research community, the two terms are used interchangeably, albeit technically incorrectly, throughout this paper.

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Acknowledgement

Preparation of this manuscript was supported by the Lighting Research Center and by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant ES11659.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lighting Research Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 21 Union Street, Troy, NY, 12180, USA

    John D. Bullough, Mark S. Rea & Mariana G. Figueiro

Authors
  1. John D. Bullough
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  2. Mark S. Rea
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  3. Mariana G. Figueiro
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to John D. Bullough.

Additional information

The title is a variation on the title of John Steinbeck’s classic novel, Of Mice and Men.

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Bullough, J.D., Rea, M.S. & Figueiro, M.G. Of Mice and Women: Light as a Circadian Stimulus in Breast Cancer Research. Cancer Causes Control 17, 375–383 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-005-0574-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-005-0574-1

Keywords

  • Melatonin suppression
  • Phase shifting
  • Breast cancer
  • Animal studies
  • Lighting